Jiu Wan Sifu was
the Sifu of Grandmaster Jason Lau. In his youth in Fatshan (Foshan),
China, he studied Wing Chun from his cousin Jiu Tong, who is in the
same lineage as Wing Chun Master Yip Man. Later, because he was
quick student, Jiu Wan established his own Wing Chun school in
Fatshan. He developed a friendly relationship with Yip Man at this
time. After the Communists took over China, Jiu Wan left Fatshan for
Hong Kong.
Jiu Wan Sifu never tired of improving his skill. Whenever he had
time during the day he often went to practice his Chi Sao, many
times with Gandmaster Yip Man. Very seldom did he openly demonstrate
his Kung Fu techniques to the public. Years ago at Grandmaster Yip
Man's birthday party, Master Yip asked him to demonstrate the Chum
Kiu form of Wing Chun and everyone in the audience was very
impressed.

He always said: "Being a
teacher is not that simple. Teaching should be like a parent and child
relationship, with constant attention to the student's conduct. When a
mistake is made it should be corrected. That is the real meaning of
teaching a martial art, and is good for both teacher and
student.""The young are always full of energy, and rebel against
traditional thinking. I also had the same feelings, but young people often
react emotionally and cause themselves problems.""I absolutely disapprove of fighting,"
Jiu Wan Sifu also said, "because whatever method you try to find for a
solution, fighting only makes things worse and is not the way to get
results. But when a mistake is made, don't blame yourself too harshly,
just treat it as a learning experience and strive to do better in the
future.""This
is very easy to say, but hard to do - but being a teacher is a big
responsibility."

Jiu Wan Sifu compared the Wing Chun
style is like a puzzle - hard to understand even over a lifetime of study.
No one should say they are successful, and he says, "As for myself, I only understand a
little bit."
When Jiu Wan taught, he emphasized practice sparring. He explained that
Wing Chun doesn't have many forms and, in general, doesn't take too long
to finish learning the system. But he also said that when you study the
martial arts, it should be practical, and young people in particular get
easily bored. Sparring trains the reactions, and Chi Sao too can help
students understand the main and finer points of the system. Diligently
practicing these drills gets better results than any complicated verbal
explanation that a teacher can give. With sparring, a student can increase
their confidence in their ability to face an attack, and also give
themselves a chance to use the offensive and defensive movements they have
learned in order to protect themselves. Grandmaster Yip Man, before he
passed away, presented Jiu Wan (seen together at right) with a plaque on
which was written the four words "Wing Chun Jing Tung" which means "Wing
Chun the Pure Tradition." With his skills thus recognized, and teaching
his students in a dignified manner, Jiu Wan Sifu had no
regrets. Although
a teacher to the stars (his student Ti Lung is a Hong Kong movie star) and
a martial arts senior, Jiu Wan was humble and polite. He did not depend on
his own great skills, but joined with the young as both teacher and friend
to them.